Embodiments of the inventive subject matter generally relate to the field of communication networks, and, more particularly, to waking up powerline communication (PLC) devices in a PLC network.
PLC devices can conserve power by switching between an active state (i.e., an awake mode) and a low power state (i.e., a sleep mode). A PLC device can enter the sleep mode based on a predetermined sleep schedule which may specify repeating sleep durations. On completion of the sleep duration, the PLC device can enter the awake mode. In some cases, a first PLC device may have to communicate with a second PLC device which is in the sleep mode. In this scenario, the communication with the second PLC device is typically delayed by the first PLC device until the second PLC device is in the awake mode.